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1898 United States House of Representatives elections

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1898 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1896 June 6, September 6, September 12, and November 8, 1898[a] 1900 →

All 357 seats in the United States House of Representatives
179 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader David Henderson James Richardson
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since March 4, 1899 March 4, 1899
Leader's seat Iowa 3rd Tennessee 5th
Last election 206 seats 124 seats
Seats won 187[1] 161[1]
Seat change Decrease 19 Increase 37
Popular vote 5,305,230 4,828,592
Percentage 48.55% 44.18%
Swing Decrease 0.22% Increase 3.19%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Populist Silver Republican
Last election 22 3
Seats won 5[1] 2[1]
Seat change Decrease 17 Decrease 1
Popular vote 463,059 60,805
Percentage 4.24% 0.56%
Swing Decrease 2.62% Decrease 0.46%

  Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Silver Independent
Last election 1 1
Seats won 1[1] 2[b]
Seat change Steady Increase 1
Popular vote 5,766 96,537
Percentage 0.05% 0.88%
Swing Steady Increase 0.31%

Speaker before election

Thomas Reed
Republican

Elected Speaker

David Henderson
Republican

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1898 for members of the 56th Congress, and took place in the middle of President William McKinley's first term.

As in many midterm elections, the President's Republican Party lost seats, but was able to hold a majority over the Democratic Party. The Populist Party also lost many seats, as their movement began to decline. This was likely because many Populists rallied behind William Jennings Bryan's increasingly powerful branch of the Democratic Party, which built the rural economic issues advocated by Populists into their platform. As a result, the Democrats won a number of Western seats as well many in the Mid-Atlantic.

Election summaries

style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color; width:45.10%" | 161 style="background:Template:Other/meta/color; width:2.52%" | 9 style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color; width:52.38%" | 187
Democratic [c] Republican
State Type Total
seats
Democratic Populist Republican Silver/
Silver Republican
Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change
Alabama District 9 8 Increase 1 0 Decrease 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Arkansas District 6 6 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
California District 7 1 Decrease 1 0 Decrease 2 6 Increase 3 0 Steady
Colorado District 2 0 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady 1[d] Steady
Connecticut District 4 0 Steady 0 Steady 4 Steady 0 Steady
Delaware At-large 1 0 Decrease 1 0 Steady 1 Increase 1 0 Steady
Florida District 2 2 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Georgia District 11 11 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Idaho At-large 1 0 Steady 0 Decrease 1 0 Steady 1[d] Increase 1
Illinois District 22 8 Increase 3 0 Steady 14 Decrease 3 0 Steady
Indiana District 13 4 Steady 0 Steady 9 Steady 0 Steady
Iowa District 11 0 Steady 0 Steady 11 Steady 0 Steady
Kansas District
+at-large
8 0 Steady 1 Decrease 5 7 Increase 5 0 Steady
Kentucky District 11 9 Increase 2 0 Steady 2 Decrease 2 0 Steady
Louisiana District 6 6 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Maine District 4 0 Steady 0 Steady 4 Steady 0 Steady
Maryland District 6 2 Increase 2 0 Steady 4 Decrease 2 0 Steady
Massachusetts District 13 3 Increase 2 0 Steady 10 Decrease 2 0 Steady
Michigan District 12 0 Decrease 2 0 Steady 12 Increase 2 0 Steady
Minnesota District 7 0 Steady 0 Steady 7 Steady 0 Steady
Mississippi District 7 7 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Missouri District 15 12 Steady 0 Steady 3 Steady 0 Steady
Montana At-large 1 1 Increase 1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Decrease 1
Nebraska District 6 1 Increase 1 3 Decrease 1 2 Steady 0 Steady
Nevada At-large 1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 1 Steady
New Hampshire District 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
New Jersey District 8 2 Increase 2 0 Steady 6 Decrease 2 0 Steady
New York District 34 18 Increase 12 0 Steady 16 Decrease 12 0 Steady
North Carolina District 9 5 Increase 4 1[e] Decrease 4 3 Steady 1 0 Steady
North Dakota At-large 1 0 Steady 0 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady
Ohio District 21 6 Steady 0 Steady 15 Steady 0 Steady
Oregon District 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
Pennsylvania District
+2 at-large
30 10 Increase 7 0 Steady 20 Decrease 7 0 Steady
Rhode Island District 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
South Carolina District 7 7 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
South Dakota At-large 2 0 Steady 0 Decrease 2 2 Increase 2 0 Steady
Tennessee District 10 8 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
Texas District 13 12 Steady 0 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady
Utah At-large 1 1 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Vermont District 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
Virginia District 10 10 Increase 4 0 Steady 0 Decrease 4 0 Steady
Washington At-large 2 0 Decrease 1 0 Steady 2 Increase 2 0 Decrease 1
West Virginia District 4 1 Increase 1 0 Steady 3 Decrease 1 0 Steady
Wisconsin District 10 0 Steady 0 Steady 10 Steady 0 Steady
Wyoming At-large 1 0 Decrease 1 0 Steady 1 Increase 1 0 Steady
Total 357 161
45.1%
Increase 37 6[e]
1.7%
Decrease 16 187
52.4%
Decrease 20 3[f]
0.8%
Decrease 1
Popular vote
Democratic
44.18%
Independent
0.86%
Populist
4.24%
Republican
48.55%
Silver Republican
0.56%
Silver
0.05%
Others
1.56%
House seats
Democratic
45.10%
Independent
0.28%
Populist
1.40%
Republican
52.38%
Silver Republican
0.56%
Silver
0.28%

The previous elections of 1896 saw the election of 24 Populists, 2 Silver Republicans, and a Silver Party member.

House seats by party holding plurality in state
  80+% Democratic
 
  80+% Republican
  60 to 80% Democratic
 
  60 to 80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Populist
  Up to 60% Republican
Net gain in party representation
  6+ Democratic gain
 
  6+ Republican gain
  3-5 Democratic gain
 
  3-5 Republican gain
  1-2 Democratic gain
  1-2 Populist gain
  1-2 Republican gain
  no net change

Special elections

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates}
Ohio 19
Pennsylvania 23
Virginia 2
Virginia 4

Election dates

All the states held their elections November 8, 1898, except for 3 states, with 8 seats among them:

California

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates}
California 1 John All Barham Republican 1894 Incumbent re-elected.
California 2 Marion De Vries Democratic 1896 Incumbent re-elected.
California 3 Samuel G. Hilborn Republican 1894 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Republican hold
  • Green tickY Victor H. Metcalf (Republican) 57.3%
  • John Aubrey Jones (Democratic) 39.1%
  • Thomas F. Burns (Socialist Labor) 3.6%
California 4 James G. Maguire Democratic 1892 Incumbent retired to run for California Governor.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
  • Green tickY Julius Kahn (Republican) 50%
  • James H. Barry (Democratic) 44.1%
  • W. J. Martin (Socialist Labor) 3.7%
  • Joseph P. Kelly (Independent) (Democratic) 2.2%
California 5 Eugene F. Loud Republican 1890 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Eugene F. Loud (Republican) 51.8%
  • William Craig (Democratic) 44.3%
  • E. T. Kingsley (Socialist Labor) 3.9%
California 6 Charles A. Barlow Populist 1900 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
  • Green tickY Russell J. Waters (Republican) 52.6%
  • Charles A. Barlow (Populist) 44.9%
  • James T. Van Ransselear (Socialist Labor) 2.5%
California 7 Curtis H. Castle Populist 1896 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.

Florida

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Florida 1 Stephen M. Sparkman Democratic 1894 Incumbent re-elected.
Florida 2 Robert Wyche Davis Democratic 1896 Incumbent re-elected.

South Carolina

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
South Carolina 1 William Elliott Democratic 1886
1896
Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 2 W. Jasper Talbert Democratic 1892 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 3 Asbury Latimer Democratic 1892 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Asbury Latimer (Democratic) 96.6%
  • John R. Tolbert (Republican) 3.3%
  • Others 0.1%
South Carolina 4 Stanyarne Wilson Democratic 1894 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 5 Thomas J. Strait Democratic 1892 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
South Carolina 6 James Norton Democratic 1897 (special) Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY James Norton (Democratic) 96.9%
  • J. H. Evans (Republican) 3.1%
South Carolina 7 J. William Stokes Democratic 1894 Incumbent re-elected.

South Dakota

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
South Dakota at-large
(2 seats)
John Edward Kelley Populist 1896 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Elected on a general ticket:
Freeman Knowles Populist 1896 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.

Non-voting delegates

District Incumbent This race
Delegate Party First elected Results Candidates
Arizona Territory at-large
New Mexico Territory at-large
Oklahoma Territory at-large James Y. Callahan Free Silver 1896 Incumbent retired.
New delegate elected.
Republican gain.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Regulars only, not including specials
  2. ^ 1 Independent Republican and 1 Independent Populist
  3. ^ There were 6 Populists, 1 Silver, and 2 Silver Republicans
  4. ^ a b Member of the Silver Republican Party faction elected.
  5. ^ a b Includes 1 Independent Populist
  6. ^ Includes 2 members of the Silver Republican faction.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Martis, p. 152–153.
  2. ^ "Elections in States". The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1900. New York: The Tribune Association. 1900. p. 338 – via Hathi Trust Digital Library.
  3. ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=299872

Bibliography